Dyeing process and apparatus



1932- E. R, MElNlG 7 1,873,004

mmnge PROCESS AND APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 14, 1929 (1N0: "up

E. R. MEINI G 1,873,004

DYEING PROCESS AND APPARATUS 'Filed March 14, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 m, H H w. m

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

ERNST RICHARD MEINIG, OF wYOMISSING, PENNSYLVANIA,ASSIGNOR TO E. RIOHARD MEINIG 60., INC., OF'BEAIDING, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA nynme mocsss am) arr'anarus Application filed March 14, 1929. Serial No. 846,958.

'5 Heretofore, in dyeing hosiery, it has been the general practice to place the articles in a tumbling drum containing the dyeing liquid, and tothen rotate or oscillate the container. This results in rubbing of the articles against one another, so that frayed places are formed,

and" as the dye may not uniformly reach all parts of the mass of stockin s or the like, there may be variations in the s ades of the color of the finished hosiery. Consequently, a number of the articles may be so unfavorably affected as to necessitate the discarding of the same, or their sale as seconds.

Some effort has been made to eliminate these disadvantages by neatly arranging the dyeing, but even this expedient has not solved the problem. 1

I have discovered that these drawbacks may I be obviated by subjecting the fabrics to the dye bath while longitudinally stretched as upon suitable forms. I have also discovered that the dyeing process is improved if the stockings, while thus longitudinally stretched upon the forms, are maintained substantially out of contact with one another during the immersion, as this prevents any rubbing of one garment against another, which might I result in fraying of the threads. I have also found that the process is enhanced if the dyeing is practiced while the articles are longitudinally but not laterally stretched upon forms which do not conform to the configuration of the stockings. If the stockings, during the dyeing, are stretched upon flat forms having a leg-outline at the lines of contact between the stocking and the lateral edges of the form, noticeable lines will appear on the dyed stockings; and in order to eliminate this I stretch the stockings longitudinally during the dyeing, on forms which are relatively narrow in comparison with the hose enclosing upon the same.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that one of the main objects of the invention is to prostockings in superposed relation, during the vide animproved process of fabric dyeing, I

which consists in supporting a series" of.

fabrics in longitudinally tauted non-contacting relation, and subjecting the fabrics while so supported, to immersion in a vat of dyeing liquid. 1

Another object is to practice such a process while moving the fabrics in the dyeing liquid,

for agitating the latter, and such movement is preferably in an endless path.

Another object is to furnish a novel apparatus designed to support a series of fabrics in longitudinally tauted, non-contacting relation, and to dip said fabrics in a dye vat,

and to move the fabrics'in endless aths while they are immersed in the dyeing liquid.

With the foregoing objects outlined and withother objects in view which will appear as the description roceeds,m invention consists in the nove features ereinafter described in detail, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a transverse vertical sectional view of a portion of a dyeing vat containing dyeing liquid, and showing my improved apparatus cooperating therewith.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the same, taken on the line 22 of Fig; 1.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the apparatus.

Referring to thee drawings, 10 indicates a dyeing vat containing a pool of dyeing liquid 11. This vat may be of any preferred construction, and of course, the dyeing liquid may beof any desired color or character.

My improved mechanism preferably includes an upstanding cylinder 12 containing a ram or plunger 13 which may be raised or lowered by properly controlling a pressure fluid travelling through the con nit-14. Ar-

ranged at the top of the ram, and supported Thus, while the head 15 is in lowered position, the gears 17 may be simultaneously rotated, but when the ram is elevated, the worm 18 will disconnect itself from the gear 19, due to the fact that the shaft 20 is supported in stationary bearings 21, carried bya bracket 22 which is mounted in a stationary manner on the cylinder 12.

Some of the shafts 16 project through the front wall of the head 15, and arms 23 are fast on the projecting ends of these shafts. Each arm carries anti-friction bearings 24 in which a stub shaft 25 is jour'nale'd. One pair of the stub shafts 25 are fixed to upwardly projecting ears 26 on a bracket 27, and the other pair ofstub shafts are similarly fixed to ears 28 that extend .upwardly from a bracket 29. As one pair of the arms 23 normally extend in one direction, and the other pair normally extends in the opposite direction, it will be noted that one of the brackets 27, 29 will be in raised position, while the other is in lowered position, and vice versa. I, i a

Each of these brackets carries a series of rods 30; the rods of each series being spaced apart, and each rod being adapted to support a multiplicity of stocking forms 31, which have rings or eyes 32 at their upper ends, to permit the rod 30 to be threaded through the same. Each of these forms is of special construction, claimed in Patent No. 1,761,402, issued to me June 3, 1930. For the purposes of the present disclosure, it may be said that each form is flat and preferably made of wire, and includes parallel sides 33, which have converging extensions 34 that terminate in a point 35 that is adapted to engage the inner surface of the toe of the stocking, when a stocking is fitted on the form. A .T-shaped projection 36 isprovided near the upper end of the form, and is adapted to be inserted into the usual slit of the welt portion at the top of the stocking. Of course, these forms may be of various lengths to cooperate with stockings of different sizes, and as the 'form is relatively narrow and does not conform ,to the outline of the stocking when the latter is in flattened condition, it .will be understood that practically the only portion of the stocking which will contact with the form, even though the stocking encloses form, will be the toe and welt; the flattened walls of the laterally unstretched tubular stocking being free to sway more or less toward and from one another under action of the liquid surging therethrough, insuring uniform dyeing action. From Fig. 2 it will be; observed 'thatthe opposite sides of the ring of each form 31 are distorted for the purpose of spacing the forms apart without arranging any special spacing devices on the rods'30; and consequently, when a series of the forms with stockings thereon, are susthe greater portion of the pended on any one of the rods 30, the adjacent stockings will be su ported in substantially non contacting re ation, so that thestockings will not rub against one another while they are dipped and moved in endless" paths in the dyeing liquid 11.

It may be noted at this point in Fig. 1, that the cylinder 12 and as shown has oppositely extending arms 37 which support guiding ered.

In operation, let us assume that the ram 13 is raised to the top of its path of movement. At such time, the rods 30 will be at proper elevations to support the forms 31 entirely above the vat 10, and at such time, the forms with the stockings thereon, will be threaded on to the rods 30, until each rod supports its quota of the forms. Now, the ram 13 will be lowered, and as the rods. 30 are positioned above the vat 10, it will be understood that the forms 31 will force the stockings which they carry, to be submerged in the dyeing liquid 11. When the stockings are immersed, the worm 18 will have come into engagement with.the gear 19, and at this time, the shaft 20 is set in motion to cause the gears 17 to rotate. As the arms 23 are mounted fixedly on certain of these shafts, it will be understood that each of the supporting brackets 27, 29 will now be moved in an endless path, and as one of the brackets moves upwardly, the other will move downwardly, and vice versa. Consequently, the stockings carried by the brackets will also be moved in endless paths, through the dyeing liquid, and this will not only cause the liquid to be a itated, but each portion of the stocking will be uniformly brought into contact with the dyeing liquid. Of course, during this movement, while the flattened walls may move toward and from one another, there will be no rubbing of the surfaces of the fabrics against one another, and conseguently, the stockings will not be damaged uring the dyeing operation.

Furthermore, as all of the stockings will be subjected to the same amount of dipping, submersion and agitation, it will be apparent that all of the stockings will be uniformly dyed.

- After the dyeing operation is completed,

lot of the stockings for the next dyeing operation.

While I have disclosed what I now consider the preferred embodiment of my invention, and explained the same for use in dyeing stockings, it is manifest that the machine and the process may be used for dyeing fabrics and various articles, and I do not wish to limit the invention to use in dyeing stockingsalone. I

From the foregoing it is believed that .the construction, and operation of the machine, and the steps of the process may be readily understood, and I am aware that various changes may be made in the features disclosed, without departing from the spirit of the invention, as expressed in the claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for use in subjecting fabrics to liquid treatment, comprising a vat adapted to contain a pool of the treating liquid, a vertically reciprocating plunger, a head carried by the plunger, a bracketsupported by the head, means for moving said bracket in an endless path, rods carried by the bracket. and a series of forms supported by the rod in freely depending non-contacting parallel relation and adapted to be jointly raised from, and lowered into the vat by movement of said plunger.

2. In a machine of the character described,

a vat adapted to contain a treating liquid, a

bracket, means for raising and lowering the bracket, rods carried by the bracket, and fabric forms supported by the rods and extending into the vat, and means for maintaining the portions of the forms which extend into the vat, out of contact with one another.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, a vat adapted to contain a treatingliquid, rotatable arms, a bracket having stud shafts rotatablymounted in the arms, a series of rods carried by the bracket and extending over the vat, forms suspended from the rods and extending into the vat, and means for maintaining the major portions of the forms out of contacting relation.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, a vat adapted to contain dyeing liquid, an upstanding cylinderarranged in close proximity to the vat'f'a vertically movable ram in the cylinder, a head supported by the ram. rotatable shafts carried by the head, means for rotating the shafts, arms fixed on certain of said shafts, certain of the arms extending in one direction and the other arms extending in the opposite direction, brackets having stud shafts loosely mounted in said arms, a series of rods carried by each bracket and extending over the vat, and fabric forms suspended from the rods and extending into the vat.

5. The improved process of hosiery dyeing, which consists in suspending a depending series of separately supported longitudipermitting the side vwalls of each stocking to move toward or away from each other.

' 6. The improved process of fabric dyeing which consists in longitudinally stretching tubular fabrics on individual laterally loosely fitting supports, mounting a series of said supports in a fixedly spaced depending relation, and subjecting said series to immersion in a pool of dyeing liquid.

7. The improved process of fabric dyeing which consists in longitudinally stretching tubular fabrics on individual fiat loosely fitting supports, mounting a series of said supports in depending fixedly spaced flat relation, and subjecting said series to immersion and edgewise agitation in a pool of dyeing liquid.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

ERNST RICHARD MEINIG. 

